The image of that stain replayed again and again in her mind. Maybe it had been nothing—a simple accident in the kitchen.
But what if it wasn’t?
What if something terrible had happened?
The uncertainty gnawed at her.
The next day Caleb returned again, looking just as exhausted as before. Emily forced a polite smile while ringing up his purchase. When their fingers briefly touched, she felt a chill run through her.
As he left the store, she made a decision.
She couldn’t ignore her instincts anymore.
That evening after closing the pharmacy, Emily didn’t drive home. Instead she headed toward the edge of the neighborhood.
She remembered Caleb’s address from deliveries sent to the pharmacy—a large, aging two-story house near the quiet outskirts of town.
When she arrived, the house looked even more unsettling than she expected. The structure was huge but badly neglected, surrounded by tall weeds and broken stone paths. Dark windows stared out like empty eyes.
Emily parked beneath a large oak tree and watched.
No lights.
No movement.
Just silence and the distant sound of crickets.
“What am I doing?” she whispered to herself. “I should call the police.”